This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive) that we have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all, and especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 3:9-10

Saturday, October 31, 2015

As we prepare for worship this coming Sunday I find myself in a very unfamiliar situation. Over the past 8 years I have served as Lead Pastor of North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene. I have never missed a Sunday for sickness during this entire period of time. Today my wife Sharron has me on "lock down" - no phone - no meetings. Since last Sunday I have been fighting a sinus cold that last Sunday interrupted my sermon delivery with coughing and as people have described, my "radio " voice. All this week I have taken over the counter medications to bring my cold to a close. On Wednesday I saw our family physician who gave me the diagnosis of a severe sinus and upper respiratory infection. Then the "bombshell". My doctor said no talking for the next 5 days. - thus no phone and no meetings. Since then, I have been on a high dose of antibiotics and resting (especially my voice).

The passage of Scripture for the message this Sunday is what I consider the most difficult passage from the book of 2 Thessalonians. It is the cornerstone of the series - the 3rd in a 5 part teaching series. Great ready for an awesome time of worship and moving of the Holy Spirit!

We plan to begin with words of welcome to all!

Then we stand and lift our voices in joyous praise to our great God!

The death of Jesus is a tremendous gift to us. It is precious. When we are given a gift of great value, a gift that involved personal sacrifice for us, how should we receive it? With mourning and regret? No, that is not what the giver wants. Rather, we should receive it with great gratitude, as an expression of great love. If we have tears, they should be tears of joy.Worship the Lord by bringing an offering to the Lord!

Hear the Word of the Lord:

The end times can lead to an assortment of reactions.
Some people write fiction books about it while others actually attempt to
predict the day and time that Jesus will return. For centuries, people have
been predicting the time and circumstances of Christ’s return, and many still
try to do so today. But God’s word warns against such predictions, and instead
challenges us to prepare and pray for His return while trusting Him with the
timing.

Friday, October 30, 2015

If I could choose one more course for ministry training and
preparation, it would be “Courageous Leadership.” I hear from so many pastors
and staff who are trained well in the classical disciplines, but who are
ill-prepared for the real world of church ministry.

Though there have certainly been more difficult times in
the course of Church history for pastors, leading a church today is much
tougher than it was 20 and 30 years ago. There have been some demographic and
cultural shifts that reflect this reality. But some of the challenges can only
be understood in the context of spiritual warfare.

So, what are some of the specific reasons pastors and
church leaders must be more courageous today? Though my list is far from
exhaustive, allow me to name six of the key factors.

1.There have been dramatic shifts in
culture, most of them adversarial to biblical Christianity. Church
leaders can no longer assume that biblical values are normative in culture
today. To the contrary, many of the cultural mores are antithetical to
Christian truth. The pastor must take a stand in this adversarial environment
while remaining pastoral and compassionate.

2.The position of pastor is no longer held
in high esteem in many communities. When I was a pastor in
the 80s and 90s, I could count on some level of respect from community members
because of my vocation. That is not the case most of the time today.

3.Church critics can be vicious. Have
you noticed that, throughout the Bible, the greatest harm to a believing
community comes from dissension among the believers? Opposition from the
outside is a challenge; dissension from within can be devastating. And church
critics today seem to have gone wild!

4.Pastors must push against the “me”
mentality of many church members. For reasons I have noted for
years, many of our church members see church membership as tantamount to
country club membership. They pay their way and get their perks. Pastors who
push against this pervasive and unbiblical mentality often do so at great cost.

5.Good church leaders must say “no” often. The
best church leaders say no to the good so they can say yes to the best. But
those who receive a “no” don’t often receive it well.

6.Ultimately church leadership is spiritual
warfare. Paul leaves no doubt to this reality in
Ephesians 6:13: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the
tactics of the Devil.” Pastors and church leaders are truly engaged in
spiritual warfare. They must have courage, a courage that can only come from
God.

I am not certain about the mindset of Joshua before he led
the people of God into the Promised Land, but it seems like he needed an extra
dose of courage. Repeatedly in Joshua 1, God tells him: “Be strong and
courageous . . . “ (Joshua 1:6).

Church leaders need to be reminded of the need for courage
today. Serving as a pastor is an impossible job without the strength and
courage that comes only from God.

Church members: may I encourage you, even exhort you, to
pray that your pastors and church leaders will have the courage they need to
lead God’s churches? Let me hear from you.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

The 2015-2016 snow predictions are in! The new Farmers Almanac is in and it's saying this is what we can expect. Get the snow boots ready!!

I am not sure about the amount of snowfall we will experience this coming winter - however I am sure that this Saturday evening we turn our clocks "back".Get ready: it's almost time to "fall back y'all."

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, which means you will need to turn your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night Oct. 31. The annual tradition signals the official start of shorter days and, on Nov. 1 sunset will occur about 5:19 pm. Plan ahead - enjoy the extra hour of sleep - and don' t be late for church!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

"Prayer can do anything that God can do,
as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent." (R.A.
Torrey, "The Power of Prayer")

Many Christian leaders, possibly stating with Augustine,
said that prayer is the occupation of the soul. For the mature Christian, their
heartbeat is to serve the Lord and, in serving, we are communicating and, in
communicating, we are praying. The occupation of our soul is our communication
lines with our Holy God. The occupation of our soul is our prayer life with
Christ, one of the primary purposes of our existence.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be
opened." (Matthew 7:7)

When prayer is mentioned at most churches, dull, dry, and
boring images come to mind. Most Christians flat out do not want to pray and
even get offended when they feel they have to spend what they perceive as too
much time in prayer, usually over 10 minutes. Yet the Bible is filled with
examples of prayer gatherings, which we called to participate with. This is
called "corporate prayer," which means praying together as a
community of believers. However, this does not necessarily mean praying for big
business. What it does mean is a way to express oneness and unity. Yet we do
not like to do it! We may spend time with our individual prayer lives but not
together or when we do, it turns into gossip and ridicule.

God calls us to seek His presence, as a body of believers
with one mind and voice, so why don't we? And if we do get together, it is all
about us and our individual needs and desires, which is good as long as we
include others and go beyond our own backyard. So we need to find the
excitement of communing with our Lord and doing it with each other. We are to
focus on the Lord and not ourselves.

When we desire to have a church that is after God's
purpose then prayer will be at the heart and core of it. The church cannot
function without prayer. To have a church that does not pray is like having a
telephone operator who refuses to use the phone or the computer programmer not
using a computer in their occupations. Sounds like foolishness? Well a lot of
churches do not pray, in fact if you carefully inspect churches as I have over
the years, you will be shocked on how little prayer actually goes on, or that
prayer is wispy and scarce.

At North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene we gather for prayer each Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. Our church is filled with people who love God and believe in prayer - but I cannot understand why only 10- 15 people come on Wednesday night to pray. God help us! Will I see YOU this evening for prayer?

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Monday, October 26, 2015

The Bible says in Romans 1:17, “The Good News shows
how God makes people right with himself” (NCV).

How does God make us right with himself? This is called the
Gospel, and there are three points.

First, we can’t make ourselves righteous.

Heaven is a perfect place. There’s no sin, sadness, evil,
or injustice. But here’s the problem: We are imperfect, and God can’t let
sinful people into Heaven because then it would be full of sin, too.

Romans 3:20 says, “No one can ever be made right
with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we
are”

(NLT, second edition).

The only people who think they can keep God’s laws are
those that don’t know them, because God’s laws are perfection, and none of us
are perfect. We cannot be made right on our own. So God had to come up with a
plan.

Second, God sent Jesus to pay for our sins so
we could be declared righteous.

When you break man’s laws, you pay man’s penalty. When you
break God’s laws, you pay God’s penalty, which is eternity in Hell. Somebody
has to pay for all the things you’ve done in life that hurt other people,
yourself, and God. God said, “I’ll send my Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty. He
will take your place so you don’t have to go to Hell. You can be with me
forever.”

Do you understand why the Gospel is called Good News? It
means everything you’ve ever done or will ever do wrong in life has already
been paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross. You have been made right with God.

“[God] saved us, not because of righteous things
we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus
3:5a).

Third, we have to accept by faith what God did
for us.

To be made right with God, just believe and accept by faith
that what Jesus did on the cross paid for your sins. Then, you are a part of
God’s family. You can live the way he wants you to live now and then go to
Heaven in eternity. That is righteousness.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you openly declare that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

Hallelujah! We can all be saved no matter who we are, what
we’ve done, or how long we’ve done it.

Today is the day to settle this. If you are not sure if you
are going to Heaven when you die, please pray this prayer: “Dear God, thank you
that you made me and that you made me to know you. Thank you for the choice
that you’ve given me to accept or reject your offer of salvation. Today I
humbly ask you to save me — not based on what I’ve done but based on what Jesus
Christ did for me. I don’t understand it all, but as much as I know how I want
to put my trust in your Son. God, I want to get to know you. I want to learn to
love you. I want to hunger and thirst for righteousness the rest of my life. I
put my trust in your grace and in your forgiveness. I want you to be the Lord
of my life. Amen.”

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Today I am fighting congestion and a touch of fatigue. Responsibilities mounted throughout this week and on Friday as I was trying to do several things at one time - I prepared the power point presentation for my message today only to discover when I tried to transfer it to a jump drive I inadvertently deleted my manuscript and power point.

I did not have time on Friday to finish with my prep and found myself in unexpected territory of preparing my presentation late Saturday evening.

No worry - God is faithful and I am now psyched about preaching tomorrow. I pray for an unusual anointing of God upon the words God has placed in my heart and soul.

Here is a video to complement my message today along with a great resource I recommend:

Saturday, October 24, 2015

On the last Sunday of October we gather for worship of our great God! Last week our attendance was surprisingly low and I am praying that God will draw people to His House this coming Sunday. I feel that god has placed a significant message in my my soul that has marinated all week. Each day this week I have gone to my preaching notes and refined and added notes as God has lead.

As we prepare for worship tomorrow - here is the planned order of worship. We make our plans, but God has the last word!

We gather in the Worship Center during the countdown and when it concludes - we stand and open our hearts and voices to sing for joy to the Lord!

We draw near to God in prayer. Bring your request to the Lord for He inclines His ear toward us when we pray.

When thinking about Jesus, His healings, miracles, and
acts of compassion tend to come to mind. We think about the way He cared for
the poor, served His disciples, and sought out social outcasts. But when we
think of Jesus, we rarely think of Him coming in power to judge the living and
the dead. Most people tend to think of Him in ways that are comfortable to
them, without contradicting or challenging the beliefs they already hold. As we
study 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, however, we will see that Jesus refuses to bow to
our preconceived notions of Him. While Jesus’ first coming was marked by
humility and service, His second coming will be marked by judgement and glory.
Only those who have trusted in Him will be able to stand in that day. In light
of Christ’s promise to return in power and judgement, we must make the most of
the time God has given us by seeking His face and telling others the good news
about Jesus while there is still time.

Friday, October 23, 2015

When you are a baby Christian, God gives you a lot of
confirming emotions and often answers the most immature, self-centered prayers
so you’ll know he exists. But as you grow in faith, he will wean you of these
dependencies.

God’s omnipresence and the manifestation of his presence
are two different things. One is a fact; the other is often a feeling. God is
always present, even when you are unaware of him, and his presence is too
profound to be measured by mere emotion.

Yes, he wants you to sense his presence, but he’s more
concerned that you trust him than that you feel him. Faith, not feelings,
pleases God.

The situations that will stretch your faith most will be
those times when life falls apart and God is nowhere to be found. This happened
to Job. On a single day he lost everything — his family, his business, his
health, and everything he owned. And then, for 37 chapters, God said nothing!

How do you praise God when you don’t understand what’s
happening in your life and God is silent? How do you stay connected in a crisis
without communication? How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when they’re full of
tears?

You do what Job did: “Then he fell to the ground in worship and
said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD
gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised’” (Job
1:20b-21 NIV).

Tell God exactly how you feel. Pour out your heart to him.
Unload every emotion that you’re feeling. Job did this when he said, “I can’t
be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak” (Job 7:11 TEV).

He cried out when God seemed distant: “Oh, for the
days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (Job
29:4 NIV).

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

As we prepare for intercessory prayer this evening at 6:30 at North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene I am moved by Warrior's Prayer that I recently read. It is part of a battle plan for prayer I am developing since seeing the film: War Room. I commend it to you today.

Good morning Lord.
Thank you for assuring me of victory

today. By faith I choose to follow your battle plan and
to

prepare myself according to your instruction.

To prepare for the battle ahead, by faith I put on the
belt of

truth. Renew my mind to what is true. Fill me with truth.

Expose in my heart the lies that I am tempted to believe.
The

truth is that You are a sovereign God who loves me and
cares

for me. The truth about me is that I am Your child -
bought

and paid for. Nothing can separate me from Your love.

By faith I put on
the breastplate of righteousness.

Today I am committed to do what is right regardless of
what it costs me.

Allow the righteousness of Christ to shine through me today.

By faith I put on
the sandals of the gospel. I am available to

You. Use me in the lives of others. I pray that in my
conduct

and speech I would accurately represent you. Make me a

calming presence everywhere I go.

I now take up the
shield of faith. My faith is in You and You

alone. Apart from You I can do nothing. In You I can do
all

things. Everything that comes against me must come

through You for I am in you. As you walked without sin on

this earth, live without sin through me today.

By faith I claim victory over _____________ (list some of the temptations
I know I will face today). When I face these temptations, remind me that the victory has already been won.

By faith I put on
the helmet of salvation. Thank You for saving me. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to live inside me. Holy Spirit, I

surrender my will to You today. I surrender my thoughts
to You. I choose to take every thought captive to the
obedience

of Christ.

And last, I take
up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Claim several promises from scripture.) So Lord, I go now rejoicing that You have chosen me to
represent

you to this lost world. May others see Jesus in me. May Satan and his hosts shudder as Your power is manifest through me.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

As you watch the news, do you feel as I do—that it seems
the world is coming apart at the seams? There appears to be no end to the bad
news. The killing of Christians by Muslims from Indonesia to Bangladesh to
Pakistan.

China tearing down church buildings. Christians tortured, beheaded
and crucified in Iraq, with villages burned and churches destroyed, and much
the same in Syria.

American pastor Saeed Abedini is still imprisoned in Iran
for his faith. Throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East, and many parts of
the world, the church of Jesus Christ—and anyone or any group who bears His
Name—is under attack. In our own country as well, there is great opposition to
the church of Jesus Christ. We see this throughout the media, the entertainment
industry, government and politics.

Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24 when they asked
Him about the signs of the end of the age. He said there would be wars and
rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes and pestilence. He told them, "Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be
hated of all nations for my name's sake" (Matt. 24:9, KJV).

As I read the news, I can't help but wonder if we are in
the last hours before our Lord Jesus Christ returns to rescue His church and
God pours out His wrath on the world for the rejection of His Son. I don't know
if we have hours, days, months, or years—but as Christians, God calls us to
take the truth of the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Our job is to warn
sinners of the consequences of sin and show them that God is loving and
gracious, willing to forgive if we come to Him in repentance and faith. We have
to accept God's provision for our sins—the shedding of Christ's Blood on the cross.
This is what we preach at BGEA—Jesus Christ, dead, buried and risen! Ultimately
this is what matters most in this world.

We have seen firsthand the pestilence of Ebola. This year
the virus has already claimed the lives of over 1,000, making it the deadliest
Ebola outbreak in history. A medical doctor serving with Samaritan's Purse in
Liberia was infected with this deadly virus, but through the prayers of many
righteous, God spared his life. All this reminds me of the urgency of preaching
the gospel while we have the opportunity. Jesus tells us, "As long as it
is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one
can work" (John 9:4, NIV).

I have just completed a major evangelistic Crusade in
Pittsburgh, and we have another coming up in Toronto, Ontario, and then Erie,
Pennsylvania, where the Good News will be proclaimed to thousands and broadcast
over the Internet to reach even more. This fall we have a powerful new My Hope film being
released with a never-before-seen message from my father about heaven.

This is
a great chance for you and your church to partner in My Hope 2014 with Billy
Graham and invite your friends and loved ones to hear the Gospel. Plan to show
it to people you know and encourage your church to show it as well.

Whether we are holding evangelistic Crusades in stadiums or
reaching the lost in closed countries in the Middle East through the Internet as they search for
answers to questions like "What happens after I die?" or "Who is
Jesus?"—through whatever means we are able to proclaim the Good News of
Jesus Christ, your prayers and financial gifts make this ministry possible. We
are grateful for your partnership and your heart for the gospel.

Franklin Graham, son
of iconic evangelist Billy Graham, is the president and CEO of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse.

Monday, October 19, 2015

The Nazarene founders could have chosen October 16, 1907,
as the denomination’s official anniversary date. That was when a new
denomination was created by the First General Assembly meeting in Chicago,
Illinois.

One year later, the Second General Assembly, meeting in Pilot
Point, Texas, from October 8-14, 1908, expanded the new denomination’s numbers
and made it truly national by reaching deep into the (U.S.) South.

At the Sixth General Assembly in 1923, the founders chose
an official anniversary date for the church, but instead of applying the “logic
of firsts,” they used “the logic of inclusion,” choosing the Second
General Assembly as the benchmark for observing “this great spiritual
marriage.” There is good reason to be glad that they did.

The primary agenda at both General Assemblies was to effect
mergers. The assemblies were linked so closely that the sixth general
superintendent, John Goodwin, later observed that the Second General Assembly
functioned as an “adjourned” (or carryover) session of the First. The
assemblies united regional churches from America’s east and west (1907) and
south (1908). There were later mergers, including two major accessions in
1915, but the three churches that united across two Octobers gave the united
church its essential shape and character.

The East-West union merged regional churches that had
compatible cultures. The North-South union was different, with regional
differences between merger partners that were sharper and more complex, with
the divisive politics of 19th century America looming large in the background.

From the 1820s on, the slavery issue had alienated
Americans along regional lines.

In the 1840s, the growing animosity between
North and South divided the major Protestant churches — Presbyterians, Baptists,
and Methodists. In Broken Churches, Broken Nation, historian
C. C. Goen argued that these schisms actually accelerated the movement towards
war, since each division of a national church loosened one more national bond
that had once bound the American people to one another. Then came the
bloody and devastating Civil War of the 1860s. Slavery, regionalism, and
war had poisoned the well of American Christianity. The situation merited
H. Richard Niebuhr’s condemnation that the broken denominations stood out on a
bleak cultural landscape as naked emblems of “the world’s triumph over the
Church.”

The Hallelujah March October 1908 Pilot Point Tx.

Consider how unlikely the Pilot Point merger really
was. Those who met in October 1908 at Pilot Point, Texas, understood this
history of regional conflict and war. The older ones present had lived
through it. The younger ones had been schooled in it. The Methodists
did not reunite their northern and southern denominations until 1939. The
Presbyterians did not do so until 1983. The Baptists have never done
so. But in 1908, in a small Texas town, the holiness people looked beyond
the social and political estrangement, the legacy of suspicion and regional
stereotyping, and they united their forces in the name of Christian holiness.

Historian Abel Stephens wrote that American Methodism
succeeded in its first century because its preachers proclaimed that God’s
divine grace is imparted to sinners and actually changes them. Early
Nazarenes inherited this message of transforming grace. The union of
churches at Pilot Point was a shining example of the social reality of
Christian holiness. At the heart of the Christian message is a word of
reconciliation: first between sinners and Divine Love, and second, among
estranged members of the human family. Pilot Point signifies the reality that
holiness heals hearts and unites people who are otherwise driven apart by sin
and conflict.

The minutes of the Second General Assembly state that on
Tuesday morning, October 13, Phineas Bresee called the assembly to order at
8:30 a.m. Various leaders from the different sections made speeches celebrating
the approaching merger.

Then "Bro. R. B. Mitchum spoke in a very tender way of
the gracious leadings of God up to this moment. He desired to move that 'the
union of the two Churches be now consummated.'" Others seconded the
motion. Bresee announced that this was "an epoch-making time" and
"an answer to Christ's prayer" for Christian unity.

The minutes state that "the motion being put, it was
passed unanimously by a rising vote, amid great enthusiasm" at 10:40 a.m.

"The burst of holy joy continued for several minutes,
brethren of the South throwing their arms around brethren of the North, East,
and West, at the same time singing a new hymn for the occasion. . . . Soon the
inside of the tent became too small for the freedom of such joy, and the people
began marching out and around the great tent, with waving handkerchiefs and
shouts of joy, and eventually formed in an immense solid circle on the grounds,
where Dr. Bresee mounted a chair and addressed the multitude in words of
inspiration."

Pilot Point left an indelible impression on those
present. For them, it was an experience of reconciling love and a symbol
the gospel can triumph over the divisive and chaotic forces of this
world.

Today it remains a potent and enduring symbol that genuine
Christian holiness creates new social realities. Pilot Point retains the
power to speak to us as a church whose people now represent so many different
nationalities, races, cultures, and tongues.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Intro: 35 years ago Mount St. Helen’s was a beautiful mountain 96 miles south of Seattle, Washington, and 50 miles northeast of Portland,
Oregon. Geologist became concerned that all evidence pointed to a major
eruption on the mountain and the call to evacuate was issued.

Over TV and
radio; over loudspeakers mounted on top of police cars, the announcements were
loud to evacuate the area. House to house notification were made and people
began to leave the area. One person
refused to leave: Harry Truman – not the President.

Harry Randall
Truman was a resident of the U.S. state of Washington who lived on Mount St. Helens. He came to brief fame in the months preceding the
volcano's 1980
eruption after he stubbornly refused to leave his home
despite evacuation orders.

He was the owner and caretaker of Mount St. Helens
Lodge at Spirit
Lake, located at the south end of Spirit Lake at
the foot of the mountain in the danger zone at the time of the eruption. I know
this mountain and it will not kill me.

An ash plume billows from the crater
atop Mount St. Helens hours after its eruption began on May 18th, 1980, in
Washington State.

On that date, an earthquake struck below the north face of
Mount St. Helens in Washington State, triggering the largest landslide in
recorded history and a major volcanic eruption that scattered ash across a
dozen states. The sudden lateral blast—heard hundreds of miles away—removed
1,300 feet off the top of the volcano, sending shockwaves and pyroclastic flows
across the surrounding landscape, flattening forests, melting snow and ice, and
generating massive mudflows.

That morning Harry Truman and his 16 cats had just
finished breakfast when the eruption took place. Harry along with every living thing near him
was dead moments later. A total of 57 people lost their lives in the disaster.
The column of ash and gas reached 15 miles into the atmosphere, depositing ash
across a dozen states.

But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are
in it will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10 NKJV

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples
came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And
what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And
Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For
many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive
many. And
you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for
allthese things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All
these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation
and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And
then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one
another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness
will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the
end will come. Matthew 24: 3-14 NKJV

The church in 2 Thessalonians was confused
over the belief of the second coming of Christ. They responded with panic and
lawlessness. Some were shaken and alarmed by the things they heard, while
others were caught up in rebellion against God. Paul taught the church to
respond with faithfulness and preparation. We should respond the same way as we
get ready for His return.

"Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church
of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you
and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to
give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is
greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever
greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God
for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and
afflictions which you endure." 2 Thessalonians
1:1-4

How do you get ready for something that you don’t
know when it’s going to happen? How do you get ready and stay ready for
Christ’s return?

1. Expect PERSECUTION and AFFLICTION

We ought always to give thanks to God for you,
brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the
love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we
ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance
and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you
endure. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Paul says they were experiencing
persecution and affliction. To be a follower of Christ doesn’t mean you are
exempt from life’s trials; it can actually bring them. Christians face
harassment at school, at work and around the world Christians are persecuted
for their faith. Persecution is probably what you think it is… Christians are
marginalized from society.

“I have told
you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” John 6:33 MEV

Jesus promised that in this world we would have
tribulation. Jesus said if they hated me they will hate you and if they
persecuted me they will persecute you. If you aren’t expecting that and
prepared for that, you might wane in your faith. But if you know it’s coming,
you can be prepared.

2. STAND in FAITH

We ought always to give thanks to God for you,
brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged…2 Thessalonians 1:3a

Paul bragged on the church of
Thessalonica for modeling an increasing faith — they kept pressing forward like
Paul to know Jesus more deeply and to see their faith grow. Faith is like a
muscle, you can feed it and exercise it and see it grow. Think about your
service to the Lord. Many work hard for
God – other say – I can’t give 2 hours on one Sat a month to help clean the
church. I can’t help in the nursery or
with the children’s ministry – others can do that. Pastor – stop asking for money – I just can’t
give 10% of my money back to God. When
will you exercise your faith?

3. GROW in LOVE

We ought always to give thanks to God
for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and
the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater … 2 Thessalonians 1:3b

We should grow in our love for one
another more and more. We need each other. There are many “one another’s”
in the Scripture. As the time of Jesus draws near, we will need each other more
and more. The writer of Hebrews said gather and encourage each other. As the
day of Christ grows closer, you should press in toward your faith family and
love others and receive love from them.

Let us
not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each
other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

Therefore,
my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! Philippians
4:1

So love through acts of kindness…. LOVE
IN ACTION.

4. PERSEVERE in HOPE

Brothers and sisters,
we want you to know what happens to those who die. We don’t want you to mourn,
as other people do. They mourn because they don’t have any hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

Paul bragged on their perseverance in
the midst of the hard times. They persevered because of the hope within them.

True faith is not perfection. True faith will always get back up. You must
persevere because that is when the character of Christ is developed in us.

… because you know that the testing of your
faith produces perseverance. James 1:3

Not only so, but we also glory in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance… Romans 5:3

As you know, we count as blessed those who
have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what
the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11

When we pass the test, when we walk through
the fire, God says He can reward us and strengthen us. It will all be worth it
when Jesus returns.

Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set

your minds on things above, not on earthly
things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is
your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians
3:1-4

Are you prepared? Are you a Harry Truman – I know this place
better than anyone else. Are you
ready?

Rick and Sharron Hudgens

About Me

I am privileged to be a servant of the Lord God Almighty on High. God has blessed me with a beautiful wife, Sharron, two twin daughters, Danielle and Stephanie, a great son-in-law, Josh (married to Stephanie), and my first granddaughter, Alyse Nicole. In October 2009 Danielle married Jessie Bolder and we welcome Jessie and our new grand daughter Jayden into our family. On April 16, 2010 Danielle gave birth to Jordan Richard Bolder - our first grand son. A few weeks later on May 7th Stephanie gave birth to Breeley May. The latest update is the our daughter Stephanie gave birth to Cammie Lynley on July 12, 2013. Sharron and I are blessed people.